More Than A Sparrow

  • The Bible Passage


    One of the first nights in Greece I was really homesick, so I got out the Bible my mom had sent with me. It’s actually my Dad’s travel Bible. There is a piece of paper in the Bible that had two verses written on it, so I looked them up and they just fit so well with what we were going to do during the week. I have no idea how long that paper has been in there, but I am so glad it was. The first passage was- oh this is so funny. I thought it was 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18, which it was, but the paper was over the Chapter 5 marker so I read 5:13-18! The 4:13-18 doesn’t really fit, but because I didn’t see that I was reading chapter 5 it fit really well! So good. So not 1 Thessalonians 4, but 5:13-18.
    “Hold them in the highest regard in love because of their work. Live in peace with each other. And we urge you, brothers, warn those who are idle, encourage the timid, help the weak, be patient with everyone. Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but always try to be kind to each other and to everyone else. Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”
    The second passage was 1 John 4:7-12.
    “Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God, whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.”
    I thought both of those passages really worked. When I first read them I cried. It just hit me. I am to help others and show them love, just as God has loved me. It was such an encouragement to read those verses and remember the reason God had called me to Greece. God is love and because I am a follower of Christ I can have the same love for others that He has for me. I do not have to let fear take over and restrict my love for others. I was there to care and love the refugees. With God’s help, and love flowing through me, I was able to do just that.
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  • Pictures of Greece

    Greece was beautiful. It was cold while we were there, but the country side is just gorgeous.

    I loved how green everything was, especially after having just left Canada where everything is white with snow.

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  • The Refugees


    The refugees are remarkably beautiful. The women have long wavy hair that is super glossy and many, many of them (men too) have gorgeous hazel or blue green eyes. It’s so striking against their dark hair and skin. The little children are ridiculously cute. It was so fun to watch the little kids playing; children are pretty much the same everywhere in the world. So many children came through the camp; lots of big families. It’s amazing how quickly children bounce back. Most of the children I saw were laughing and playing soon after they arrived in camp. They saw their parents relax and settle down to wait for the bus, and immediately the kids were out playing with a soccer ball or running around.
    The people who came through were so grateful; it blew me away. Not a lot of panic, although the volunteers have a lot to do with that. We try to be calm and welcoming, no rushing and lots of smiling. It helps keep everyone calm and gets the refugees to relax. I found that the refugees were quick to smile and laugh, happy and pleasant. Once they got into camp you could see them relax because they knew they were safe. Most of them had just spent a night or two sleeping in the forest, waiting for a chance to get on a boat. The refugees are stressed, anxious, they have so many emotions going on when they arrive at camp. A lot of that stays, but a little bit of it disappears. They can relax a little, they can warm up, drink some tea and leave a little happier and that makes everything we were doing worthwhile. One of the team members told us of one man who asked why our team had come. When he found out we had come from Canada and had left our families behind to be there, he cried. We came because we knew he was coming. 
    The smugglers charge anywhere from 100 euros to 300 euros a person and put as many people on the rafts as they can. A boat had come in the night before with 80 people on it. These boats are made for 15. The smugglers shout at the men to get on the boats and once they are on, the smugglers kick and shove the women and children on. People run after the boats as they leave, trying to jump on. The desperation these poor people must feel. Near the shore the water is calm, but once they get to the middle of the trip, the waves are too high to see land. Therefore at night many boats are lost because the people on them cannot see Greece anymore. 
    When we arrived at Skala Sykamineas we were told that 8 people had been swept overboard the day before as they were coming to Greece. The coast guard had found 6 bodies, but 2 people were still missing and most likely dead as well. The night before, two boats went down and 45 people drowned. Then another 8 people drowned, six children and two women. In Canada we are so removed from the reality the refugees face. We might feel the horror of it, but we can’t feel the full sorrow. The pain in some of those people’s faces takes your breath away. Children often die as they are so vulnerable. One man said that as soon as their boat reached the shore everyone burst into tears. They were so grateful to be alive and they had been so terrified. Seeing and hearing the reality of their predicaments was so heart wrenching. 
    Many of the refugees are dehydrated. They are told by the smugglers, or others, to not drink anything so they won’t have to go to the bathroom, especially the women. There were groups who came into camp and refused water bottles or tea. At the time I didn’t realize that it was so they wouldn’t have to go to the bathroom. 
    These are the refugees.
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  • Skala Sykamineas


    When our team finally managed to make it out to the camp we went for a 24 hour shift. It was actually three shifts, all stacked on top of each other. We arrived around three o’clock in the afternoon. The site supervisor, Laura, walked us through the different stations and we decided where we would like to work. The camp where we were working is called Skala Sykamineas. There is no town of that name, but the town right beside the camp is called Sykaminea. Skala is a Greek word that means ‘stairs to the port’. 
    The station I was working at is where the refugees come to after receiving water and a banana. They didn’t come directly to me because I was working in the kitchen tent, but I saw them go by on their way to the big refugee tent. I made a huge pot of Afghani tea. Afghani tea is tea leaves and lots and lots of sugar. They like it super sweet. Sickeningly sweet. SO sweet. Okay, I think you get the picture! I only had to make one pot of tea and there was still just about half a pot when we left 24 hours later. I also had a pot of hot water always on the stove and ready to use. The baby food was in the kitchen tent, so I would rinse baby bottles and put the hot water and milk powder in them for the moms. It was a little overwhelming at first to be the one in charge of the kitchen and working by myself. I was sort of just thrown into the job with very little explaining on what I was supposed to do exactly. Laura came and explained how to do it all again (which was a lot less and easier than the people who had been in the kitchen before had said) and said if I needed anything she was there to help. She was so kind to me and it helped so much knowing that she would come and help me if I needed her. Even though she was super busy, she stopped to make sure I was alright and it made such a difference. 
    My job was actually pretty laid back. I made the tea and when it was ready I went out with a stack of cups and a pitcher of tea and passed it out to the refugees. Even though I wasn’t really talking with the people it was nice to interact with them a bit. They were so grateful for the tea. It was really eye opening to me. Here I was just giving them a cup of tea and they had tears in their eyes and huge smiles on their faces. It was such a small thing, but it meant so much to them. 
    Because my job wasn’t really time consuming I was able to help in a few of the other stations. I took over handing out water and bananas for a couple hours, which I loved doing. It was so exciting to see the refugees arriving and being one of the first people they saw when they walked into camp. I was also able to help out in the clothing tent with another lady on my team. We sorted donations and Rachel organized the whole tent. It was so messy when we first arrived, but with Rachel’s hard work and my help it looked so good when we left the next day. 
    I was still sick while we were there so the team let me sleep through the night; I didn’t have a shift during the night (there are always a few people awake during the night in case refugees arrive). I slept in one of the clothing containers. It was freezing cold, but I managed to sleep and I am so grateful the rest of the team was willing to take my shift. In the morning I handed out rice pudding to the refugees that had stayed overnight and then I passed out more tea. It was fun. As more refugees began arriving in camp I helped hand out more water and bananas. In total we had 1, 100 refugees come through the camp in the 24 hours we were there. 
    It was bittersweet leaving Skala Sykamineas. I was ready to leave, but I enjoyed working out there. It was so good. I would love to do something similar in the future.
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  • Wednesday


    On the Wednesday half of our team was supposed to go out to Skala Sykamineas (the refugee camp) to work. The other half of the team was going to go out later that day to replace us. Unfortunately the weather was too bad to go out; snow was coming down quite heavy (for Greece, it was nothing compared to winter weather in Canada) and it was dangerous to be out driving. The refugee camp was about an hour and half away from where we were staying. Eight of us from the team were planning to go out at three in the afternoon for a 24 hour shift instead of the two shifts of 8 hours each. There would be less driving that way, as they would only go out once. Once again, though, plans changed. That was one thing I learned about Greece, plans and time are fluid! Never make rock solid plans, because they will probably change. The weather was so bad by the afternoon that no one was leaving Skala Sykamineas and no one was going out. Every time we heard we couldn’t go to camp there was disappointment, but I kept feeling that God had other plans for us. Maybe we were there to pray. Praying is not worth less than going out to the camp. God is good, and His ways are perfect. We just had to trust Him. I was having a hard time feeling like I should go to the camp. I didn’t feel scared or anxious about going.  I just felt more like we were supposed to stay back.
    Boats were still coming across from Turkey. I can’t imagine how awful that must have been. It was so cold that day, below zero at the camp with wind and snow. Those poor people were coming off the boats wet and in the wind it would have been freezing. We were told that in the last 45 minutes (after being told we weren’t going to camp) two boats had arrived on the beach. There were two deaths; one was a little four year old boy, and the other was a young woman. They died from hypothermia on the shore.
    Our team decided to go to one of the rooms we were staying in and have a worship time. We didn’t want to just be like tourists while we weren’t at the refugee camp, we wanted to do something worthwhile. We prayed for those stuck out at the camp (there were people there who had just been touring the camp and became trapped there because of the weather), the refugees who were arriving, the organizations working there, and the smugglers. It’s easy to be angry at the smugglers. They are placing thousands of people on boats that are not made for open sailing. So many people are dying because of the smugglers part in their journey. The smugglers are making incredible amounts of money at the painful cost of others. It’s absolutely horrible. I know others on the team were so angry at the smugglers, almost to the point of hate. Somehow I didn’t, and can’t, hate the smugglers. Whenever they come to mind I feel intense sorrow for them. They are so lost and blind. They do not know the saving grace of Christ and their hearts are hardened. It breaks my heart to think of them being so cruel to others and not seeing the reality of their actions. All they see is profit.
     We prayed for everyone who came to mind. It was an emotional time, especially knowing that two people had just died. After our time of prayer we sang songs and read portions of the Bible. It was an incredible time of worshipping together, becoming closer, and learning to trust God even in the tough things. It was so good that we were able to pray for the whole situation going on. We were disappointed to be unable to go to Skala Sykamineas, but we used that time for something worthwhile. It was a time of refocusing and remembering that we were in Greece because God had called us there. Even though we weren’t doing what we had planned on, we were doing what God wanted us to do in that moment. And it was worth it.
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  • Tuesday



    The morning after we arrived Kim, our leader, did an orientation. He discussed all the things that have been going on in Greece, a little backstory, and some of what we would be doing. The area of Lesvos we were in receives 75% of the refugees coming across. Literally all the nations of the world are going there; refugees, migrants, displaced people, they are all funneling through Greece. There have been people from Haiti, Tibet, Africa, the Dominican Republic, Mongolia, and Somalia, just to name some of them.
    We read Matthew 25: 31-46, “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. 32 All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.

    34 “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36 I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’
    37 “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you?39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’
    40 “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’
    41 “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42 For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’
    44 “They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’
    45 “He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’
    46 “Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”

    This Bible passage is what we were actually going to be doing. We were to feed them, give them clothes to wear and invite them in. We were going to help the sick and even help those who were in prison. How were we going to help those who were in prison? Since the crisis started in Turkey, women who are being trafficked for sex have been able to escape their prison and flee to Greece. These women went to Turkey with the impression they were going to be maids and nannies, but were sold into the sex trade. So even in that we were able to help. It was amazing to see how we were going to live out a part of what God has called us to do as Christians.
    After our orientation was over we went into the town, Mythimna, for lunch. I was starting to get sick with an awful chest cough that lasted the entire trip. After lunch we walked around a bit to see the town (There are so many cats and dogs there! It was unbelievable how many there were). We saw some of the rubber dinghies people are coming across on; these boats are made to hold only 15 people, but smugglers put at least 45 people on each one. Some dinghies come with as many as 80 people. Once you see one of those ‘Death Boats’, it’s not hard to understand why so many capsize. It is winter in Greece right now, yet people still come across. It must be awful where they are coming from if they are willing to spend 200 euros to come across and risk life and limb in doing so. They are so desperate for freedom from oppression.

    When we had toured Mythimna we went to what is called the ‘graveyard’. It is the place where they take the discarded boats and lifejackets. There are over 400,000 lifejackets there. Piles and piles of jackets and boats. Many of the jackets are fakes, just pieces of foam and orange cloth. Children often come across with just two kiddie arm floats. There is no way to dress warm enough for the weather, because they get soaked coming across from Turkey. These people are coming across open water for four hours with fake jackets in an overcrowded boat. It was a little overwhelming to see and hear it all.

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  • Small Mercies


    God is good. That is something I have been learning over and over again this past year. I especially learned this truth during my mission’s trip to Greece. I am a person who is afraid of a lot of things. It’s really hard for me to step out of my comfort zone and I depend on others more than I should. I am not an independent person and I hate making decisions. I would rather have someone else take charge of my life and I’ll just follow along. I know, not very healthy. Deciding to go on this mission’s trip was a huge deal for me. I would be leaving my family, home, and everything I am familiar and comfortable with, and fly fourteen hours across the world. I made the decision to go very quickly and was committed early on, which was a good thing. By the time I left, I would have gotten out of going if I could have. How glad I am now that I couldn’t! I knew that I would have a great time once I got there, but the act of actually leaving terrified me. How could I leave?! Canada is my home and I am quite happy and content here. But I was expected to go and I had people depending on me. I was also going with a lovely lady I have known my entire life. How bad could it be? But it was so big to me; no small feat. I had to be faithful though and I knew God had called me to Greece. Our God is so faithful! He knew all my fears and He was faithful and good. I went to Calgary to fly out to Greece. The woman I was going with, Jeanette, was flying first class and I was going economy. When we arrived at the airport she decided to see if she could get me into the business class lounge. We walked in, I was praying that I would be able to get in, and asked if I would be able to go in as well, even though I was economy. The woman at the desk said someone had left their pass behind and would see if she could swing it. Yes! The pass worked and I walked into the lounge with Jeanette. We thanked the lady profusely and she just smiled shyly. I knew then that God was with me and watching over us. It wasn’t a huge thing if I couldn’t have gotten in the lounge, but it was so nice that I could. It reaffirmed the fact that God was with us, at least to me.
     I was scared for the flight. I don’t really like flying, but I was also going to be sitting by myself. Jeanette was sitting in business class, so we weren’t sitting together. I was so scared of getting on the plane and having to be by someone I didn’t know. Air Canada also let us board at the same time, so I got on the plane before everyone else. Jeanette came to see where I was sitting and mentioned that maybe I would sit by myself. I was sitting by the window and I watched as everyone boarded the plane. I was praying, “Lord, please let me sit by myself!” Person after person walked past and no one sat by me. I was by myself. It was amazing! It was especially nice since that was the 9 hour flight and I could stretch out without disturbing anyone. God was with me. The next flight, from Athens to Frankfurt, I was again sitting by myself! Well, almost by myself. I sat by the window again and there was an empty seat between me and the other man; but still lovely. On the final flight, from Athens to Mytilini, I was sitting by Jeanette and because the flight was mostly empty the man who was sitting by me moved so that I would be more comfortable. So kind!
    Throughout the week God was with me. I wasn’t afraid like I usually would be, and I am normally a scaredy-cat. I had a sense of peace and security all through the week. I have never felt Gods presence so strongly. He was there. When I was walking about the town, or working in the camp, He was there. On the way home, too, I was going to be alone. But our God is greater! I was sitting with people I knew all the way back! It was so much fun to be able to sit by people I had met on the trip and get to know them better. This trip I grew so much in my faith and experienced God in a new way. He became so real to me and I am so grateful to have been able to go to Greece.
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  • Greece

    I am back in Canada! I arrived in Calgary a week ago, and boy is it good to be home. I loved my time in Greece, but there really is no place like home! As some of you know, I went to Greece on a missions trip. I was on the island of Lesvos for a week, and I had the privilege of working with the refugees who are coming across from Turkey. I would love to share my adventures with you all, and I will be posting stories and things in the next while.

  • Christmas Traditions




    Christmas traditions. We all have them don’t we? I love this season. It’s cold outside, and snow is blowing, yet we are warm and cozy in our homes with our family close by. Full of love and comfort. Life seems to slow down, and we appreciate all that God has given us. We see how blessed we are and how faithful our Father is. A tradition my family has for Christmas Eve is that we all dress up and go to the Christmas Eve service, although this year we weren’t able to as our church doesn’t hold one. And every Christmas Eve (after we get back from the service) we settle down of the couch with bowls of snack mix and mugs of apple cider and watch A Christmas Carol. It’s wonderful. Then in the morning we sit around the tree and chat before starting the day. We open the old family Bible, and read the Christmas story. I think that is my favourite tradition we do; reading the Bible before we do anything else. It causes us to stop and think about the real reason we are celebrating. It isn’t about the presents, the food and the cheer. It’s about Jesus. It’s about God. It’s about a Saviour who was born. Born for me. He was born for all of us. “I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.”(Luke 2:10) How great is our God, how faithful!
    Christmas this year has not all been full of joy and gladness. There have been incredible hardships, and at times I really didn’t feel like celebrating. I felt like crawling in a hole and wishing the world away. But He isfaithful, He is real. And I have the great privilege of celebrating His birth and His salvation, not only during the Christmas season, but all 365 days of the year.
    The grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord to you all.
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  • Deeper Still


    As I go deeper into the ladies Bible study I am a part of, and learn God’s divine design for women, oh how my heart aches. How great my shortcomings. God is so good, and I am so, so wrong. He reveals my shortcomings, my sin, and the walls I have built between us. How painful the consequences for sin are. How hard to admit that we were wrong, to tell God that he was right and we disobeyed. He knows already the sins we have committed; He knows where we have fallen short. Yet He waits for us to come back to Him, waits for us to humble ourselves and admit our sin. How it hurts! We like to pass the buck, excuse ourselves and spread the blame, justify our actions and lessen the failure. But God knows our failures, oh how He knows. His love, though, never fails. He is always there with open arms, ready to comfort us as we ask for forgiveness. It is so hard to go back up the slope we slipped down, to retrace our steps and face our weaknesses, but God is there. He is ready to catch us when we fall and guide our steps. Each painful step back up the slippery slope He is there to give us sure footing. He is ready to wipe our tears and give us the strength to continue on. It isn’t easy, but the growth experienced and the lessons learned are so valuable. We become closer to our heavenly Father. We learn to trust Him more, and to lean on Him. His grace is endless, and His love boundless. When you are weary, rest in Him.

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